


Not alone

by KaneNogami



Category: Kamen Rider Gaim
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-01
Updated: 2014-05-01
Packaged: 2018-01-21 12:52:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1551158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaneNogami/pseuds/KaneNogami
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Have you heard about the Kumon kid? He is a wreck. Poor child, they whispered loud enough for him to hear. Poor child, they shook their heads, sighing loudly. Such a poor child. He wanted nothing more than to scream and hit them, to dig his fingers against their throats until they would stop. But he never did." Kaito's first meeting with his future best friends happened the day where the bullies had thrown his school bag in a tree, again. However, for once, someone came to his help.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not alone

Calling for help is a waste of one's time. The words rung in his head as they pushed him around, as if he had been merely more than an object. Something which could have been torn beyond repair without consequences. Of course, no one would come, no voice rising to tell them to stop. Were they bullies? No. Their child play was not damaging. It was futile to find excuses for the cruelty of this world. Perhaps, unconsciously, he had been creating his own downfall. He couldn't fit in. Not that he was trying to in the first place. What would have been the point? The only important thing was to remain steady. Falling would have proven he was unable to stand his ground, to fight for his own sake. Bruises were perhaps ugly but he could wear them with pride. A sign he had never lowered his head in shame for people he didn't care about. Yet, it was difficult some days. The way they ripped his uniform jacket from him and stomped it as if it had been nothing more than a bug, how they were going to throw his bag in the tree again. The tree which was taller and wiser than any of them. No, such thoughts were a mistake. A tree had no will on its own. He couldn't climb it. Not yet. He was too small, too weak. 

He would fall and his mother would scream upon his return at home. Telling him to fix himself, to act in a more appropriate manner. He couldn't blame her for his own foolishness, he guessed. She was alone now, trying to support everything on her shoulders. She had her own strength, a courage made up from letters she kept destroying with scissors. Yggdrasil wasn't at fault for her husband's tragic death, inflicted by his own hands, they kept repeating. Probably hoping that, one day, the words would become a reality. One which couldn't be erased. Perhaps they were right. And it was this possibility, tiny and yet present, which brought tears in his mother's eyes. He could felt it when, without any warning, she wrapped her arms around him sometimes. Usually before he left in the morning. Come back, she would remind him. As if he would fade away if she didn't.

And yet adults were far away. Turning their head to the side when he entered a classroom with blood running down his chin or upon witnessing how the damage on his hands stopped him from taking notes. Have you heard about the Kumon kid? He is a wreck. Poor child, they whispered loud enough for him to hear. Poor child, they shook their heads, sighing loudly. Such a poor child. He wanted nothing more than to scream and hit them, to dig his fingers against their throats until they would stop. But he never did. Instead of that, Kaito had to lift his head and glare at his school bag, now tangled between two branches. No one was going to lend him a hand, as usual. That's why, indifferent to the laughter coming from his classmates, he put his feet on the trunk, trying to climb. 

His foot slipped out of all sudden and his body hit in the ground in a disgraceful fashion. A wince escaped his lips as the maddening sound behind him was rising. Why couldn't they cease to pick on him? He hadn't asked for such fate in the first place. Who would have been foolish enough to beg to have so much bliss taken away from their heart in such a little time? Complaining wouldn't bring anyone back though. It's why he got back on his feet, ignoring the bruise which was going to appear on his elbow soon. He had always bruised easily. Or maybe he was simply a careless child. He had never been able to tell. The second time, and then the third and fourth, Kaito did what he could to be less clumsy, observing the trunk for a moment. However, it proven to be unsuccessful. At least, the show was starting to bore the crowd. As if he had been doing that for them. A grunt escaped his lips as his fingers eventually managed to grab a branch. This one was frail though and he feared it would break under his weight. 

It did.

Hands suddenly pressed against his back, stopping him from losing his balance. Kaito realized he had closed his eyes at this moment, and opened them once again. Blinking and trying to catch his breath, not daring to turn his head around to see who had come to his rescue. No one had ever done that before. Was he dreaming? What if the fall had been brutal enough to knock him out? Chasing these thoughts away, he took a deep breath, and grabbed another branch, lifting himself a little. Once his balance had been assured, the fourteen years old dared to peek at the person who had since removed their hands from him. 

The marks on his face were probably due to a fight. Thus, they were perhaps similar. Although Kaito himself wouldn't have been able to smile that brightly and to nod in this cheerful manner. People were not that appreciative until they wanted to steal something from him. Yet, here, it was difficult to have any ill-feeling toward this short kid with messy hair.

“You okay?” It took him a moment to reply. Or rather to find out he wished to. A small 'it's fine' was the answer he managed. A quick glance at their surroundings told him the bullies had left already. Had the boy waited for that to come to his help? Kaito couldn't deny it would have been more clever than rushing in a couple of minutes before. These kids had more than one victim. Not that Kumon would have ever given himself this title. It was a struggle for power. Nothing more. One day, he would take his revenge and ruin everything they had. It would be fair, right? His fingers clenched the branch tighter as he gritted his teeth. 

“You're almost there. Don't give up!” The words were too sudden for his liking. And the other was wrong. His bag was still far away and he probably wouldn't manage to get it back until the next windy day. 

“Just a few more branches!” What was this guy about? Kaito had no idea. And it was difficult to focus when he simply wished to give up. At least for a moment, and then he would try again. Still, he couldn't. 

“Okay.” The word burnt his tongue, as if it was a lie.

The disaster which followed was not planned, obviously. This time, as he slipped, the other was not quick enough to steady him and he fell, his body taking damage once again. A groan escaped him as he laid on the ground, arms spread. The boy was next to him almost immediately and he wrapped an arm around his shoulders, helping him to sit up. Since when depending on others was acceptable? Yet, he wasn't well enough to push the arm away and, instead, he nodded weakly, as to show he was grateful. Maybe it was the truth, somehow.

“It won't work.”

“I won't know until I try again.”

How could a stranger, especially one who was around his age, could worry about his state? It was nonsensical. Kaito managed to get on his feet, ignoring the new bruised spots on his skin. He had given up on counting them a long time ago. His eyes moved on the tree. At least, it couldn't run away. It was a challenge which would still be there the next day. Not that he wished to have to face it forever. 

“Are you guys stupid?” A high-pitched voice resonated behind them, forcing the two teenagers to turn around. There was a child, not yet a teenager as they were, staring at them. At least, it's how Kaito saw him. A small boy, even shorter than they were, whose eyes had been ravaged by tears not so long ago. There were signs, ones he could recognize without any problem. The crumpled uniform, the obvious anger in the clenched fists, the way the boy's lower lip was trembling. Was it the same as them though? Were their monsters similar? Did it matter at all? Certainly not. Only the result was important. He guessed the kid had been there for a while, observing his stubbornness from afar until he couldn't take it any longer. 

“Excuse me?” He couldn't muster anything else. A frown appeared on his face as Kaito took a few steps forward, only to stumble. Immediately, his new friend (the term was deemed unfit as the second where he thought about it) rushed to his side to put his arm around his waist. This one enjoyed the contact too much for his taste. Not that he was able to complain. 

“You won't get it back that way. It's obvious!” Perhaps the child was trying to compensate for the pain he had received by talking this way, trying to make himself louder and putting his frail hands on his waist. 

Kaito couldn't have cared less. 

“How then? You talk big but can you do anything?” He felt like an adult, a despicable person, for replying this way. Yet, they had to defend themselves, to remain strong. And causing pain was an appropriate defense. No, it was not. Dammit, what was he supposed to believe in?

“I can! I can!” The boy repeated himself a couple of times as he emptied his bag on the ground, apparently looking for something. There was a silence coming from the older two as they glanced at each other, unsure of what they would get from this. And then, Kaito saw the weapon. Oh it wasn't really one per se, as he doubted it could have done much damage. Still, the slingshot, probably crafted by the boy himself, was not a toy. How old was he? Perhaps around eleven or twelve? Kaito had never been talented at paying attention to these things. And yet, he could understand the need to have something to defend yourself with. Not that it seemed to be really efficient considering how the other looked. 

Once he had put everything back into his backpack, the kid got back on his feet, his eyes drifting toward the tree. There was something going on in his head. Some kind of calculation perhaps. And that's when, a little too late, that Kaito understood what his plan was about. 

“Shooting it down? It's too high.” Somehow, he would have been jealous if the boy had managed to get it down in a couple of seconds when himself had been struggling for half of a hour. His pride mattered less than the bag though. Not that the problem wouldn't come again the next day. 

“It's not. Let me try.” The younger of the trio was running around them, picking up small rocks as he did so. After a moment, the remaining one let go of Kaito to help. A solution where no one would get hurt? Yes, he could approve. Left alone while the two were excitedly working on their foolish plan, Kaito leaned against the tree, closing his eyes for a moment. Why was this day different from all the others? Why hadn't help come sooner? 

“Wait for me.” 

Such thoughts were futile. That's why he left the tree to work on their last idea alongside them, grabbing the rocks he saw before giving them to the shorter kid. At least, he could remain useful this way. Once they had collected enough, Kaito realized it meant the other wasn't not confident he would success upon his first try. As long as they won in the end, it was only secondary. 

“Now let me show you how it works.” Raising his weapon, the boy adjusted himself so he could hit the bag which was still trapped between two large branches. However, his first attempt was a complete failure which ended up with the rock bumping against a lower branch and falling on the smiling teenager's head. Whom lost his cheerful expression on the impact. 

“Hey! Pay attention!” In the middle of the kid's excuses, Kaito found himself oddly at ease. It was comforting somehow. Not the fact that he was standing next to a child with a weapon, but simply the fact he wasn't alone. A chuckle escaped his lips before he could stop himself and his companions immediately fell silent, turning around to stare at him. Their eyes were wide and they remained shocked for a moment. And then, they smiled. Big grins which erased the bruises and the tears.

“Let's try again!” The slingshot was lifted once again as his owner went for the bag a second time. To be fair, it took him a long time to finally hit his target. But he managed to. Although the first hit wasn't enough to make the bag fall. It moved just enough to give them hope though. And as the other guy was cheering, Kaito crossed his arms, refusing to pray for any luck. The child would win only with his strength. He was convinced he could. The three of them might have lacked power and the capacity to change the world they lived in. However, it would never stop them from trying and pushing themselves past their limits. 

Eventually, the school bag fell, only to be caught by Kaito before it could touch the ground. It was a victory, wasn't it?

“We did it!” Arms ended up wrapped around him. Ah, it was the one who couldn't keep his hands to himself. And the child was bouncing around the older males, emphasizing that he had talent. Instead of telling them to lower their voices, Kaito nodded. Tentatively, he extended his hand to ruffle the youngest one's hair, unsure of his gesture but feeling it was necessary.

“You did well.” Something in his own heart shattered when he saw the joy plastered over the boy's face. As if such words were ones he never obtained from the people around him. Not focusing too much on it, he turned around. “You too. Thank you.” And he got a similar expression from the other, albeit less visible. Was his own face that way too? He hoped it wasn't but there was no use into making up lies to convince himself. “I'm Kaito, by the way.”

“My name's Zack! Nice to meet you two.” He noticed, while he heard him talk, that Zack still had an arm around his shoulders. Well, he could get used to that, he figured.

“I'm Peco. I'm eleven!” Instead of remarking that no one had asked for that, Kaito nodded. Names mattered when you had friends apparently. So he wasn't allowed to forget those. Zack wrapped his free arm around the kid, making him laugh in delight.

“You're cool, for a baby.”

“I'm not a baby! Say that again and I'll use my slingshot against you.”

“Oh, I'd like to see you try, baby~” There was something in the boy's grin which meant a challenge but Kaito wasn't willing to let them play around that much. One of them had to be the mature one after all. 

“Calm down, you two.” As he clenched his bag against his chest, the taller of the three, whom wouldn't remain that way for long but he ignored that for the moment, got an idea. “Let's go get ice-cream or something. To celebrate.”

The proposition was immediately approved and his friends (the word was so foreign, he didn't know what to do with it yet) dragged him along, arguing about which flavor was the greatest. He could definitely learn to appreciate the noise.

“Hey Kaito, you're paying, right?”

“What?”

“I don't have money!”

“Do you think I have enough for three people?”

“Oh, you're paying for me too? That's awesome.”

“Zack, it's not what I meant— ”

“Free ice-cream for everyone!”

“Peco, I told you no!”

It would take some time though.


End file.
